The Marriage Choosing Ceremony
by tlcoopi7
Summary: Young men choose a wife at the age of 18 and the young woman joins his faction. Erudite born Beatrice Prior, daughter of Andrew Prior and Dauntless born Natalie Prior, ponders who will choose her to be his wife. Not only she ponders the night before the ceremony, but so does her friends, cousins and Eric.
1. Prologue

**The Marriage Choosing Ceremony**

 **Summary:** Young men choose a wife at the age of 18 and the young woman joins his faction. Erudite born Beatrice Prior, daughter of Andrew Prior and Dauntless born Natalie Prior, ponders who will choose her to be his wife.

 **Author note:** Except for Tris and Caleb, everyone will be in the faction of their birth. Because Andrew is Erudite born (according to the books, not sure about the movie) and stays in Erudite for this story, Tris and Caleb are Erudite born in this story. Tris is 4 years older than Caleb in this story.

I did some editing of the story to fix the inconsistencies throughout the story and grammar.

* * *

 **Prologue**

Two Erudite twins, Andrew and Jeanine Prior, wait for the marriage choosing ceremony to start. Andrew, waiting patiently with the other young men, conversed quietly with his best friend David Matthews and observing a certain young woman in black that caught his eye ever since she helped him with his psychology homework. Natalie Pedrad is very smart and very beautiful and Andrew thinks that she will be the perfect wife for him.

When it's time for him to choose his wife, he will go to the woman that he wants to marry. He will lead her to the Erudite bowl. He will cut her hand and she will cut his hand. Together, they raise their hands above the Erudite bowl and allow their blood drop into the water. Every young man stays in the faction of their birth, the women go to the young man's faction. If a young man cannot choose a wife or a young woman didn't have a young man to choose her to be his wife, then they must join the factionless.

This year is Erudite's turn to host the ceremony. Norman Jefferson, Erudite's leader, started his speech. "Today is the day that our young men choose a wife to be their life partner. Marriage brings our factions together; it binds us together to share not only ideals, but also values. Some may think that our factions are separate, but they connect us together. Erudite provides researchers and educators, Abnegation provides social programs and our government officials, Dauntless provides us with security and law enforcement, Candor provides us with judges and lawyers, and Amity provides us with food and mediation. Without each other, we are nothing."

Norman ended his speech and started calling out names. An Erudite named Jay Coulter selected an Erudite woman name Michelle Anderson to be his wife. An Abnegation named Marcus Eaton picked an Erudite woman named Evelyn Johnson to be his wife. Andrew was pleased that his best friend David Matthews selected his twin sister to be his wife. Max Pedrad, Natalie's brother, selected a Dauntless woman named Hana Michaelson to be his wife.

Finally, it's Andrew's turn. He was glad that nobody else selected Natalie Pedrad, so he slowly approached her. He grabbed Natalie's hand and lead her to the Erudite bowl. Andrew picked up a knife on the table and made the cut on Natalie's right hand. He placed the knife down on the table and picked up another knife, which he handed to Natalie. Natalie then made a cut on Andrew's right hand. Together, they lift their right hands over the Erudite bowl and let their blood drop.

Six months after the ceremony, they became husband and wife. A year later, they have a daughter, Beatrice. Four years later, they have a son, Caleb. And now 18 years after their daughter's birth, it's time for them to see which young man will choose their daughter to be his wife.


	2. Day before ceremony

**Day Before Ceremony**

 **18 years later  
** **Tris POV**

"Hey, Will, got any idea of who you're going to select to be your wife at the marriage choosing ceremony tomorrow?" I ask my cousin Will. Will is the son of Aunt Jeanine, my dad's twin sister, and Uncle David. Right now, we're sitting at our table at the upper levels school cafeteria, waiting for our friends to join us.

"You know our friend Christina from Candor?" I nodded. "Well, I am going to select her to be my wife, as long as no one selects her first. What about you, who do you think will select you to be his wife?"

"Far as I know, not my twin cousins Zeke and Uriah. Zeke likes Shauna and Uriah likes Marlene." Zeke and Uriah are my cousins on my mom's side. Mom grew up in Dauntless, where Aunt Hana and Uncle Max, my mom's brother, live along with their twin sons, my cousins Zeke and Uriah. "Other than that, I really don't know. I just hope that it's not Peter Hayes." God, Peter Hayes is such a jerk to everyone, especially to the Abnegation dependents, and even his lackeys Drew Clarkson and Molly Attwood are no better than him. "I think that Edward is going to pick Myra."

"What about Eric? You two do spend a lot of time together." Eric Coulter is one of my close friends, along with Christina Peterson, Edward Meyers, and Myra Erikson. Eric is sweet, giving me presents for no reason at all, especially jewelry. Gosh, I won't mind becoming Eric's wife, at least I won't have to leave Erudite at all.

Yes, I could imagine Eric being my husband. Christina thought that the Abnegation kid Tobias Eaton was perfect for me before he passed away from leukemia. He was a sweet boy and he was a good friend, but knowing his Abnegation background, he would rather see me happy, even with another man.

A pair of hands cover my eyes. "Guess who, beautiful?"

I smiled when I heard Eric's voice. "Is that you, Eric?"

Eric turned me around and smiled. Gosh, he looks so handsome in his blue suit. Everyone in Erudite wears blue because it helps the mind to calm down and focus. Unfortunately for my pesky younger brother Caleb, he is wound up no matter what.

"Yep, Tris, it's me," Eric says as he sat down next to me. "So, Will, thinking about choosing Christina to be your wife at the marriage ceremony tomorrow?"

"Yep, Eric, I'm planning on choosing Christina to be my wife at the marriage choosing ceremony. Who are you going to pick?"

"The most beautiful girl in all of Erudite. I hope that we can do scientific research together like Pierre and Marie Curie did over three hundred years ago," Eric says. I do like biology, especially botany. My dad is a botanist and my mom is a psychologist. Uncle David is a chemist and Aunt Jeanine is Erudite's leader and a chemist as well.

"Aww, that so sweet, Eric," Christina says as she sat down next to Will with her tray that have the typical Erudite dinner: salmon, wild rice, avocado, and a strawberry fizzy drink. Even though she is from Candor, she spends a lot of time with us Erudite dependents. "I see that you're already thinking about who you are going to choose to marry."

"Who says I'm choosing you, Candor smart mouth? I meant the most beautiful girl in all Erudite, not Candor. Besides, I believe that Will is going to choose you tomorrow," Eric says just before he takes a drink of his lemon lime fizzy drink.

"Tomorrow's choice for me is easy," Edward says as he sat down across from Eric and Myra next to him.

"We know, Edward, you're going to pick Myra," Christina says. "I can't wait for tomorrow because I don't have to deal with Peter and his lackeys anymore. When Will drops my blood on the water, I will no longer be Candor, but rather Erudite."

"Yeah, but all transfers have to undergo Erudite initiation. You know, Erudite history, customs, laws, manifesto, jobs, etc.," Will says.

"And what about the Erudite born?"

"Simple, we take a test to see which job we go into and our test results determine which field we go into and we start our job training. Erudite born start with job training, transfers have to take Erudite 101 first, then they undergo job training," Will says.

"Love to stay and chat, but I got my psychology final coming up," I say as I got up.

"I got my psychology final too," Eric says as he got up. "See you all later."

Eric and I placed our trays on the conveyer belt and headed towards our psychology class, hand in hand.

* * *

 **Authors note:** The next few chapters will be the gang's thoughts before the ceremony: Tris, Eric, Will, Edward, Myra, Zeke, Uriah, Marlene, Shauna and Christina. Then the ceremony itself and some post-ceremony chapters.


	3. Tris's thoughts

**Story notes:** School system is like this: Lower Levels is from ages 6-11, Middle Levels is from ages 12-14, and Upper Levels is from ages 15-18. The dependents do spend a lot of time getting to know one another during their school years before the ceremony, which is why Christina, Zeke, Uriah, Shauna, Marlene, and Tobias (when he was alive) hangs out with Tris, Eric, Will, Edward and Myra.

* * *

 **Tris's Thoughts**

When I got home, I went straight to my room to do my free study of botany, which is a field of biology that deals with plants, for those that don't know. All Erudite dependents are required to free study at least two subjects every day after they are done with their school homework. Since I took my last finals, it means that I have more time for free study. Right now, my free study subjects are botany and psychology, the same as Eric's. Will's are history and computer science; Edward's are military history and combat methods; Myra's are literature and languages; my bratty little brother's are chemistry and physics. Even Christina has her own free study subjects and she's not even in Erudite yet and in case you are wondering, hers are fashion design and law.

I try to study about dandelions, which most people consider to be weeds, but they didn't know that the green part of the plant is editable, where my mind wonders to the first day that I met Eric at the Erudite preschool when we were four.

* * *

 _Flashback (Tris and Eric are 4)_

 _I was sulking at the foot of my favorite tree outside the Erudite preschool because I was mad that my mommy and daddy gave me a baby brother, not a baby sister that I wanted and that Will was sick with the chicken pox, which means that I don't have anyone to play with._

 _"What's the matter?" I heard a boy's voice say to me._

 _"My cousin is sick and I don't have anyone to play with."_

 _"You could play with me. My name's Eric."_

 _"Tris. And I'm mad at my mommy and daddy."_

 _Eric sat down next to me under my tree. "Why are you mad at your mommy and daddy?"_

 _"They gave me a baby brother, not a baby sister that I wanted. All Caleb will do is cry all the time."_

 _"Caleb won't be baby always. Maybe someday, you two will be like you and your cousin."_

 _"No, he will always be bratty little brother. You have bratty little brother?"_

 _"No, but my sissy Megan thinks I'm bratty little brother."_

 _"No, Eric, you're not bratty. You're cutie."_

 _Eric picked a dandelion flower from the ground and handed it to me. "For a cutie girl."_

 _Ever since that day, Eric and I have been inseparable._

 _End flashback_

* * *

No wonder why dandelions brought up that memory because Eric first gave me a dandelion when we first met. Will even gave one to Christina when we first met her in kindergarten when we were six.

* * *

 _Flashback (The gang is six)_

 _Eric, Will, Edward, Myra, and I were playing in our secret clubhouse at the lower levels school with my other cousins Zeke and Uriah, who live in Dauntless, and only people that know the password are allowed in the clubhouse._

 _"Knock knock."_

 _"What's the password?" Uriah asked._

 _"Pansycake," said a female voice. Yep, Uriah thought of the password. He opened the door and allowed Marlene and Shauna enter along with a Candor girl._

 _"Hey, everyone," Marlene said. "If you didn't mind, I invited a Candor girl to play with us, if you don't mind. Her name is Christina."_

 _Eric went towards her and says, "Before you can join our club, you must pass initiation. You will have to complete three tasks and if you don't complete all three tasks, you won't be able to join our club."_

 _"Did anyone fail?" Christina asked._

 _"One Stiff kid by the name of Robert refused to kiss a girl, so he's no longer welcome in the clubhouse. First task is that you have to kiss a boy." Zeke said._

 _"Easy," Christina said as she went up to Will and gave him a kiss on the cheek, which caused Will to smile._

 _"Task one is done. Task two is that that you tell us the best and worst things about Candor." Eric said._

 _"Well, the best thing is that I can be honest about my feelings. The worst thing is Peter and his lackeys."_

 _"Good, good. Now for the final task. You must prick your finger with a pin and allow your blood drop on the cloth, symbolizing your acceptance into our club. Tris, hand her the ceremonial pin."_

 _I gave Christina the ceremonial pin, which is a safety pin, and she opened it. She pricked her left index finger and allowed the blood to drop on the cloth._

 _"Now, it's time for the oath. Raise your right hand and repeat after me. I promise to be a respectable member of the Dauntdite Club and I will honor all rules and regulations. I promise not to tell any club secrets to anyone outside of the club. If I fail, I will leave the club." Christina repeated the oath and we welcomed her to the club._

 _Will gave her a dandelion, "Here, a pretty flower for a pretty girl."_

 _Ever since that day, Christina have been an honorary Erudite, hopefully tomorrow, she will be an official Erudite._

 _End flashback_

* * *

"Were you nervous about the marriage choosing ceremony, Mom?" I ask my mom during dinner of lemon glazed salmon, wild rice, and broccoli.

"No, I was terrified," Mom said. "Don't worry, I am sure that Eric will pick you tomorrow. You two have been inseparable ever since you two were four." Mom was right, Eric and I have been inseparable.

"Your mother is right, Tris," Dad said. "Eric is a fine boy and he will take care of you."

"What if another boy picked me before Eric gets to pick?"

"Just because another boy may pick you before Eric, it doesn't mean that you'll have to accept the other boy. Your aunt Jeanine rejected two others before my best friend chose her."

"How would I reject one's offer?"

"You take both knives and drop them on the floor and say, 'I don't want this man to be my husband.' The boy will have to go back to the end of the line and tries again to find a suitable wife. If there are no more girls available, then he'll join the factionless."

"What if there are girls that don't get a husband?"

"If there are no husbands for the girls available, then she must join the factionless."

So, the choices are either get married or join the factionless. Nobody wants to become factionless and once you become factionless, you lose all your rights. You won't be able to get married or have children, your memory will be wiped, you will be sterilized and your family will legally declare you to be deceased.

Our factions are our community and being factionless means you're cut off from the community. We can interact with the other factions, like I do with my Dauntless cousins and their girlfriends and I previously did with Tobias until he died of leukemia when he was 11. He used to have a crush on me, but he is more like a brother to me, and just before he died, he made Eric promise him that Eric would take care of me. Every year on his birthday and the day of his death, we all visit his grave at the city cemetery. After the ceremony tomorrow, Eric and I can visit Tobias's grave and let him know that Eric will pick me to be his wife.

After dinner, I went to my room and called Eric.

"Hey, Tris, Eric says when he picked up his phone, "what's up?"

"I'm so nervous about tomorrow."

"What do mean you're nervous about tomorrow? You know that I'm going to pick you to be my wife and the only other boy that was even remotely interested in you is now gone."

"But what if someone else is interested in me?"

"Your cousins Will, Zeke, and Uriah aren't going to pick you. Edward is going to pick Myra. So, who else who isn't dead is even interested in you?"

"That Candor kid, Peter, kept giving me looks that he wants to do me."

"Tris, the names are called out in alphabetical order, which means I will pick before that Peter Hayes will even get around to it." Eric is right, he will pick before Peter since Coulter comes before Hayes. "So, don't worry about it. We been together since we were four years old and I knew back then you were the one for me. Tris, get a good night sleep and don't worry about it. Remember the promise that I made to Tobias before he died?"

"Take care of me for life or he will haunt you until your death. Do you feel his presence?"

"Yes, I do feel his presence, especially when I visited his grave after school. I told him that I wanted to be the only one to be able to choose you tomorrow. I'll see you tomorrow. I love you."

"I love you too, Eric." I hanged up the phone and went to sleep, dreaming about Eric.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Next chapter is Eric's thoughts and his flashbacks, one will be Tobias's death, so I will recommend some Kleenex.


	4. Eric's thoughts

**Eric's Thoughts**

After school, I went to the city cemetery to visit Tobias's grave. Tobias's gravestone is a simple flat marker with the following inscription: Tobias James Eaton; Born on November 11, 2107; Died on December 21, 2118; Son, Brother, Friend. After his death, we watched over his little sister Samantha, who is the same age of Tris's bratty little brother Caleb. Tobias was the last one to join the gang back in second grade. Due to the leukemia, we let him in the gang without making him go through initiation.

* * *

 _Flashback: The gang is 8 years old. Tobias will be in this flashback_

 _It's the first day of second day and Mrs. Dickens assigned us to our tables. Each table seats five students, one from each faction. Thankfully I got Zeke assigned to my table, along with an Amity boy, a Candor boy, and a Stiff boy that have surgical mask over his face and a stocking cap on his head. Tris, Christina, and Marlene are assigned to a table together with an Amity girl and a Stiff girl by the name of Susan Black. Will and Uriah are at another table with the Candor boy that Christina hates, an Amity boy, and Robert, the Stiff that failed our gang's initiation because he won't kiss a girl. Shauna and Myra are together at another table, and Edward is sitting with four boys that we don't know. So far, all of my friends are in the same class as me._

 _"Why do wear that?" Zeke asked the Stiff boy._

 _"I have leukemia," the boy answered. "Name's Tobias. Who's the pretty Erudite girl sitting over there?" Tobias asks while pointing at Tris._

 _"That's my cousin Tris. Her mom and my dad are brother and sister, which is why I'm in Dauntless and she's in Erudite." Tris looks pretty with her blue dress and silver hair clips holding her pigtails. "I'm Zeke and this is Eric. Tris is sitting with Christina and Marlene, Will and Uriah are sitting together, Shauna and Myra are sitting together, and Edward is sitting with a bunch of other boys."_

 _We let Tobias to join our gang and throughout the day, Tobias asked a lot of questions about Tris. It seemed to me that he likes her and I wouldn't mind that when we turned 18, that he might choose her to be his wife, but it wasn't meant to be._

 _End flashback_

* * *

"Tomorrow is the marriage choosing ceremony and I want to let you know that I am planning on choosing Tris to be my wife. I know that if you were here that you will choose her to be your wife, but you're no longer here with us. Samantha has grown into a beautiful young woman and my little brother Ethan likes spending time with her, so she might end up joining Erudite. I really miss you, Tobias." I thought back to the day when Tobias died.

* * *

 _Flashback The gang is 11. Sad flashback_

 _Tobias was in PICU at the city's children hospital and even though he was in remission for two years, the leukemia came back and it wasn't responding to treatment. Tobias called all of gang together so that he can say his good byes._

 _"Uriah, I wanted to thank you for sneaking in a piece of Dauntless cake for me to try before I pass on. Zeke, I wanted to thank you for the tour of the Dauntless compound when we were 9. Will, I hope that you will follow in your mother's footsteps and become Erudite leader. Christina, thank you for sneaking in ice cream for me to try. Tris, thank you for sneaking in the fizzy drink for me to try and I want to tell you that I will always love you, even though I know you love Eric with all of your heart, I just want to say it before I pass on. Eric, please take care of Tris or I'll haunt you for the rest of your life." Then Tobias went back to sleep. Two hours later, he died._

 _The funeral was depressing, the entire city showed up at the Hub, where the funeral was at. Tobias's closed casket stood in front of the room with the Abnegation pall draped over it. Normally, only the faction of the deceased, along with family and friends, would show up, but since Tobias was the mayor's son, the entire city showed up. I saw Jeanine sitting with the other faction leaders: Max Pedrad of Dauntless; Jack Kang of Candor; and Johanna Reyes of Amity. Marcus Eaton, the Abnegation leader is sitting with his wife Evelyn and daughter Samantha._

 _The priest gave the eulogy. "Today, we celebrate the life of Tobias James Eaton, who leaves behind his parents Marcus and Evelyn, his younger sister Samantha, and his friends Will Matthews, Edward Meyers, Myra Erikson, Beatrice Prior, and Eric Coulter of Erudite, Christina Peterson of Candor, and Uriah and Ezekiel Pedrad, Shauna Neilson, and Marlene Clark of Dauntless. Tobias was a typical Abnegation child, always helping others out, even when he wasn't feeling well, especially to his family and friends. His life was short, but it was a fulfilled life."_

 _How can Tobias's life be fulfilled when it only lasted 11 years? He should be doing community service with the other Abnegation kids, not lying in a box and about to be put into the ground all because of leukemia. He should be able to grow up, get married, have a family, and work in government, but no, he can't do that because leukemia prevented him from doing those things._

 _The funeral ended and four Abnegation men carried the casket to the hearse. Everyone walked behind the hearse as it made the slow journey to the cemetery. I walked with Tris and her family, holding her hand during the entire trip and the gravesite service._

 _At the gravesite, the priest read Psalm 23 out of the Bible before Tobias's casket was lowered into the ground. Each person, starting with his family, poured a handful of soil over his casket. Uriah called out for Tobias to not be a pansycake in front of God, which made everyone smile, as he placed soil over the casket. Tris and I were the last to sprinkle soil on the casket._

 _"Tobias, when Tris and I become adults, we will work on finding a cure for leukemia so that no other child will die from it. No more parents having to bury a child. I promise you that, Tobias." Then we left the gravesite together._

 _End flashback_

* * *

Tears form in my eyes as I look upon the gravestone. It's not fair, he and his sister were supposed to bury their parents, not his parents burying him. There are some things that couldn't be understood at all, even with Erudite logic. I wiped my tears away from my eyes and walked away from Tobias's grave.

I went home, did my free study of psychology until dinner. Dinner was salmon, brown rice, and cauliflower, which is one of the normal Erudite dinners. My mom Michelle is a nutritionist, so she plans the menus in the cafeteria, where everyone eats during breakfast and lunch and the transfer initiates eat all their meals. Erudite families eat dinner at home. My dad Jay is a third-grade teacher and he inspire all of his students, regardless of faction. My older sister Megan is studying to be a pediatrician alongside her husband Edwin Johnson, who is eating dinner with us. As for Ethan, he is just any typical Erudite kid, always having his nose in a book.

"Nervous about tomorrow, Eric?" Edwin asked.

"Nope, I knew ever since I was 4 that I was going to pick Tris to my wife. I just hope that no other bastard picks her before I get a chance to pick. If Tobias were here, he would have picked her and I wouldn't mind at all, just as long as she's happy with him."

Edwin looks at me with sadness because Tobias was his cousin, his father Nick is the older brother of Tobias's mother Evelyn, who lived in Erudite until Marcus chose her and she moved to Abnegation. No wonder why Tobias asked so many questions when he was alive, his mother was Erudite born.

"Even if Tobias were here, he wouldn't pick Tris because he knew that you love her and she loves you and he would put his friends before himself. It's all part of his Abnegation upbringing," my dad says. "He was a good kid, always helping others out, even when he was sick."

"And Edwin and I are studying pediatrics so that more kids will survive leukemia and less parents having to bury their children," Megan says. "I know how much you miss Tobias and he would want you to be happy with Tris. Maybe you and Tris will end up naming your son after him."

I thought about having a family with Tris someday, just never thought about what to name our children. But what if the others wanted to name their son after him? There will be several Tobiases, and there's a good chance that Samantha would want to name her son after his uncle that he will never meet.

After dinner, Tris called me on my phone, so I talked to her for a bit. Then I called Will to encourage him to choose Christina tomorrow at the marriage choosing ceremony tomorrow. Lastly, Christina called for her daily Erudite lesson and her lesson today is the Erudite founders.

I think about the ceremony tomorrow, especially the words that I will say to Tris as I cut her hand, her response as she cuts my cut, and our blood drop in the Erudite bowl.

"Beatrice Natalie Prior, I choose you to be my wife." If she accepts, she will give me one knife for me to make a cut on her left hand and she makes a cut on my left hand with the other knife and say, "Eric Jai Coulter, I accept you to be my husband." If she rejects, she drops both knives and say, "I don't want this man to be my husband." We bring our left hands over the Erudite bowl together and say together the words of two Erudite borns choosing one another, "Erudite is where we were born and Erudite we will stay. We pledge our loyalty to Erudite." A girl transferring to another faction will say as her blood drops in her new faction's "Your faction will be my faction and I pledge my loyalty to my new faction" and her beloved will say, "I will make your new faction feel like home" as his blood drops in his faction's bowl.

I went to bed with those thoughts in mind.

* * *

 **Author's note:** Next chapter will be Christina's thoughts.

 **I WANT TO CLARIFY THAT THE MAIN PAIRING IN THIS STORY IS ERIC AND TRIS NOT TOBIAS AND TRIS. IN THIS STORY TOBIAS IS DEAD AND HE IS NOT HIDING IN DAUNTLESS AS "FOUR." QUIT ASKING ME TO CHANGE THE PLOT THAT I HAVE ALREADY LAID OUT.**


	5. Christina's Thoughts

**Chapter 5: Christina's Thoughts**

Just one more day than I will never have to see Peter and his minions ever again. Too bad that Peter and Drew will be stuck in Candor. As for Molly, she might have ended up staying in Candor or go to a different faction, depending on which 18-year-old boy picks her to be his wife. All I hope that she does not go to Erudite.

I remember the day when Tobias died that they still picked on him, still couldn't escape their bullying in death.

* * *

 _Flashback_

 _Just before the funeral, everyone in Chicago passed by Tobias's open casket to get a glimpse for one final time before the casket is closed for the funeral. Most of the people just took a glimpse and went on, mostly because they really don't know him._

 _It was a different story when Peter and his minions went up at the casket and spit at the body._

" _One less Stiff in the world," Peter said after he spit at the body._

" _Sucks to be him, all Stiff," Drew said. "Not a walking Stiff, an actual Stiff."_

 _Don't they had the common decently to treat the deceased with respect? Did they even thought about Marcus and Evelyn, who will soon have to do the one thing that no parent should have to do, or even about Samantha, who will not have her big brother anymore?_

" _You three need to stop," I told Peter and his minions._

" _Make me," Peter said. "I'm glad that he's dead. One less Stiff and the more Stiffs die, the better."_

" _You are pathetic, Peter" I replied. "He was my friend and you need to treat him with respect. How would feel if it was Molly or Drew in that casket and someone decided to spit on them just because they don't even like that faction?"_

 _Peter did not respond at all, continued with the bullying. There was no way to reason with him._

 _End flashback_

* * *

After thinking about Tobias and the treatment that he received at his funeral, I called Eric for my daily Erudite lesson. If I want to make my future Erudite in-laws proud, I better know about Erudite.

"Hello?" Eric asked.

"Hey, Eric," I said. "It's Christina, ready for my daily Erudite lesson. So, what's today topic?"

"Well, today, you are going to learn about the Erudite founders," Eric said. "There are several Erudite founders, but the main one was Edith Prior. In case you are wondering, she is Tris's great-great-great-great grandmother on her father's side and Will's great-great-great-great grandmother on his mother's side."

"Wow, that's impressive," I said. "I bet that she would be proud that one of her descendants is leading Erudite."

"Actually, Christina, it is Erudite law that the head leader of Erudite must be a descendant of Edith Prior," Eric said. "It is possible that Will, Tris or Caleb will become Erudite's next leader when Jeanine retires."

I laugh at the thought of Caleb being Erudite leader.

"Caleb couldn't even sit still at dinner, so what makes you sure that he will be Erudite's leader?" I asked Eric.

"I doubt that the Erudite leadership committee is going to pick him, but he may surprise you in a few years," Eric said.

Eric and I continued our lesson some more until it was time for bed. Just think tomorrow, I will be Erudite.

* * *

 **Author's note: Sorry for long delay. Next up will be the Pedrad brother's thoughts about the ceremony.**


End file.
